Sign structure



Jan. 14, 1958 CAMPBELL 2,819,548

' 7 IGN STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 14. 1955 v INVENTOR.

I Tolmoge D.Compbe ll A TTORIVEY United States Patent 2,819,548 si'oN STRUCTURE Talmage D. Campbell, Ocala, Fla. Application September 14, 1955, Serial No. 534,291

2 Claims. (Cl. 40- 145) This invention relates generally to display devices and is directed particularly to improvements in sign strucrates.

The present invention is directed to improvements in the types of sig'iis which are used in many businesses for temporarily displaying certain information as, forenample, in connection with the real estate business where it is customaiy to set up a temporary small sign to advertise a building or piece of property for sale.

In connection with the use of signs of the above described character it is desirable to have a structure which can be easily and quickly set up and after a period of use can be taken away and setup at another location. It is also desirable thatsuch a type of sign be sturdy and capable of withstanding the action of the elements particularly strong winds which frequently twist or break small signs of the character referred to if the supporting post forming a part thereof is not firmly embedded in the ground or is not so constructed as to prevent being turned or twisted by wind pressures imposed upon the sign panel attached to the post.

In view of the foregoing. it is a particular object of the present invention to provide a sign structure which is of a new and novel design and makes possible its con struction of relatively light inexpensive durable materials and in which the undesirable features associated with small signs of conventional design or construction are avoided or overcome.

A further object of the present invention is to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a new, portable and light-weight sign structure embodying a post upon which a display panel is secured and wherein the new and novel means employed for attaching or securing the display panel to the post makes possible the employment of a relatively light-weight thin metal tubing.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a new sign structure employirig a relatively thin metal tubular body upon which sign or display panel is fixed, wherein such tubular body is of a modified cross sectional form to facilitate the easy and fi'rm connection therewith of conventional thread cutting sheet metal sign or panel securing screws and to provide a relatively broad or wide area of contact between the tubular body and the sign or panel whereby the sign or panel will be firmly held against motion on the Body under wind or other pressure.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a new means for mounting a sign or display panel by means of thread cuttin sheet metal screws, which means embodies a patented Jan. 14, 1958 "ice 2 light-weight relatively thin metal tube having a portion of the wall thereof provided with two longitudinally extending, spaced parallel flanges forming extensions of the thin metal wall and providing wide bearing surfaces into which the threads of a sheet metal screw may butt to establish a firm engagement with the tubing for the pun pose of holding the sign or display panel thereon. A

Still another object of the invention is to provide in a sign of the character described, a supporting post structure of such a new and novel form that a thin light-weight metal tube may be used for such structure and sheet metal screws employed to firmly fix thereto a sign or display panel and wherein the tube is formed or shaped at one end to provide a relatively broad pointed ground penetrating blade by means or which a tube when set up as a post will firmly maintain its position and resist any tendency to rotation or turning in the.ground under the force of winds striking the panel secured thereon.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a tubular metal body of substantial length having a substantial longitudinal portion at the wall tner'eef provided with a slot and havin the portions of such wall at opposite sides of the slot turned inwardly to form spaced parallel flanges.

One end of the tubular body is flattened through a substantial length and is formed in a teriiiinal point, providing an earth penetrating blade.

By the provision of the spaced parallel interned pertions bordering the slot the relatively thin tubular body is rigidified so that it can be easily driven into the ground and also by the provision of the inturned slot bordering portions of the tube wall there are provided relatively wide spaced bearing or contact surfaces into which the threads of a thread forming sheet metal screw rnay out, the space between the opposing surfaces of the flanges be"- ing, of course, slightly less than the major diameter of the threaded portion of the sheet metal screw whereby the desired cutting action of the screw threads into the flange faces is effected. The sheet metal screws are extended through apertures in a suitable sign panel and by forming the flange bordered slot through the major portion of the length of the tube, a long tiibe can he used and a sign secured thereon at different elevations or mofe than one sign may be secured by the self threading screws. Also the relatively widely spaced portions of the tube at opposite sides of the slot form a broad or wide bearing surface for the sign to bear upon so that turning motion on. the tube is eifec-tively resisted. Also the spring of the tubing material has the eifect of a lockwasher to clamp or hold the screw tightly so that it cannot work loose.

The invention will be best understood from aconsid' eration of the following detailed description taken in corinection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to a strict confor rnity with the showing of the drawing but may be changed or niodi fied so long as such changes mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a view in front elevation of a sign constructed in accordance with the preferred embodimentof the pres-- ent invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, taken on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 1, taken on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows the same being on the same scale as Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view on an enlarged scale and in edge elevation at the lower or blade end of the post, a portion of the same being broken away, showing the manner in which the tube is flattened to form the blade.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 10 generally designates the novel tubular body constructed, in accordance with the present invention, for the support of a sign, display panel or placard such as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and generally designated 12.

The tubular body 10 is here shown formed or constructed to function as a post.

As hereinbefore stated, an object of the present invention is to make possible the use of a tubular body of metal of relatively light and thin construction. Accordingly the metal wall 14 of the tubular body 10 is formed with or has cut therein a longitudinal slot 16 which, as shown in Fig. 1, preferably extends throughout the major portion 1 of the length of the body from one end, that is from the top end when the tubular body is employed as a post as illustrated. This slot or longitudinal opening may be made in any suitable manner, as for example, a suitable cutting device may be pressed through the wall 14 of the tube or may be run lengthwise of the wall to slit it. After the formation of the slit, by any suitable manner, a portion of the material of the metal wall 14 along each side of the slit is turned, bent or forced inwardly to provide the spaced parallel inturned flanges 18. This inturning of the material, in the manner shown, also forms the relatively widely rounded faces 18 which form spaced contact surfaces providing a wide area against which the sign or panel will bear.

The specific manner of forming the slit and also forming the inturned flanges 18 is immaterial. As an example, a thin slitting tool or knife may be forced through the wall of the tube to provide the lengthwise slit or opening and transverse cuts may be made at the ends thereof to provide the necessary width of material for turning in to form the flanges 18 and the sign engaging surfaces 18 Or, the slot 16 and the turned flanges 18 may be formed in one operation by the employment of a cutting tool of suflicient thickness which when forced through the Wall 14 will, by reason of proper thickness, form the slot and turn or press back the metal to form the spaced parallel flanges.

In the construction illustrated the opposite end of the tubular body 10, that is, the end adjacent which the slot 16 starts, is compressed through a portion of its length to form a relatively broad earth penetrating blade 20. In other words, the tube is pressed from opposite sides in a suitable device to flatten the walls so as to make a wide blade as shown, bringing the two opposite sides, designated 21 in Fig. 6, firmly and flatly together. The blade is then cut obliquely from opposite side edges to the longitudinal center and also reduced or tapered from opposite fiat sides or faces to form a point 22 having knife sharp edges which will cut through small roots and which also drives straight.

The placard, sign or panel 12 may be of any size or formed of any suitable material such as metal, plastic, plyboard or the like An essential feature of the present invention lies in the use of conventional sheet metal or self tapping or thread cutting screws such as is particularly shown in Fig. 4- and generally designated 23, in combination with the light weightv or thin metal tube formed in the novel manner illustrated and described whereby such screws may be introduced into the slot at any location therealong and will have in the opposed inturned flanges 18, relatively wide surfaces into which the threads of the screw may cut or bite to thereby establish a firm attachment to the tubular body.

To accomplish the desired tight or solid connection between the threaded shanks of the screws and the flanges 18 of the thin walled tube a predetermined dimensional relationship must be established between the spacing of the opposed faces 18' of the flanges 18 and the major diameter of the threaded shank portion 24 of the screw 23.

The head portion 25 of the screw 23 may be slotted in any suitable manner to receive an appropriate instrument to facilitate turning the screw.

The sign, panel or placard 12 may be of any suitable height with respect to the length of the slot 16 and provided with two or more vertically spaced openings 26 to receive the shank of a screw as shown in Fig. 4. These openings may be of a diameter to permit the shank or threaded portion of the screw to be extended directly therethrough or they may be of slightly smaller diameter than the major diameter of the threaded portion of the screw shank, if the sign body 27 is formed of metal especially, so that the threads will cut into the metal of the body 27.

In securing the sign or panel it will be seen that the sign can be placed at any desired height, when the post is fixed upright in the ground G as illustrated and when the metal cutting screws are extended through the opening 26 of the panel and into the slot the threads thereof will bite into the opposed side faces 18' of the flanges 18 as shown in Fig. 4, and, due to the fact that the flanges offer a relatively wide surface for several convolutions of the screw to cut into, a strong connection will be established between the tubular body and the screw even though the tubular body is relatively thin walled.

The widely curved surfaces 18 form, as shown in Fig. 4, a wide bearing support for the sign or panel. As will be readily obvious, if the sign or panel were placed against the round surface of a plain tube, that is, a tube not formed with the flanged slot as in the present invention, and metal cutting screws driven through the wall of such tube, the bufleting action of wind would rock the sign and soon tear the screw loose. A thin metal tube would soon yield for the reason, also, that there would be such a small amount of metal for the screw threads to en a e.

in the present invention, relatively wide metal surfaces are provided by the flanges for engagement by the screws but rocking motion of the sign is prevented because of the wide area of contact between the sign and the portions 18 of the tube. Also the natural spring of the metal of the tube acts like a lock washer, clamping the screw tightly so that it cannot work loose.

It will also be seen that by the formation of the inturned flanges in a thin walled tubular body a certain additional rigidity will be given to the body so that it can be easily driven into the ground.

By the provision of the relatively broad and long sharp- 1y pointed blade 20 at the bottom end of the post the latter is firmly held against turning under the force of winds against the sign board and when driven in the ground the sharp edges of the point cut readily through roots so that the point goes in straight.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there is provided by the present invention a relatively simple but strong and durable sign structure which can be used over and over for a relatively long period of time.

l. A sign comprising a tubular post of relatively thin metal, means at one end of the post for facilitating its penetration into the earth, the post having a slot in the Wall thereof extending a substantial length of the post a pair of flanges in line with the edges of the slot, a sign panel disposed against the post across the slot, and self tapping sheet metal screws extending through the panel into the slot between said flanges and having the threads thereof cut into the flanges.

2. A sign comprising a tubular body of relatively thin resilient metal having a longitudinal slot in the wall thereof with portions of the metal extending inwardly along both sides of the slot and forming spaced flanges having an inherent spring characteristic, a sign panel positioned against said body across the slot for support on the body and self tapping sheet metal screws passing through the panel and into the slot, the space between the flanges being less than the major diameter of the threaded portion 6 of the screws whereby the screw threads penetrate into the flanges and he flanges are forced apart and said spring characteristic functions to impose frictional pressure on the screws to hold the same against loosening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 826,984 Youngs July 24, 1906 1,658,863 Sparks Feb. 14, 1928 1,824,578 Thake Sept. 22, 1931 2,098,676 Rafter Nov. 9, 1937 

